China Discovers Two New Lunar Minerals in Chang’e-5 Samples

On April 24, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the latest research results of the lunar samples brought back by the Chang’e-5 mission. Chinese scientists have discovered two new lunar minerals in the samples, both approved by the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA), and named magnesiochang’eite and ceriumchang’eite respectively. CNR reported that this achievement marks another major progress in China’s astromineralogy research.

Among the two new minerals, magnesiochang’eite was discovered by a research team jointly composed of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) and Jiangxi University of Applied Science. This is the team’s latest achievement after successfully discovering "chang’eite" — China’s first new lunar mineral — in 2022.

Found in the lunar soil samples brought back by the Chang’e-5 lunar probe, magnesiochang’eite is located inside the clasts of lunar drilled basalt. It appears as columnar crystals, and no identical corresponding mineral has been found on Earth so far. As the second new lunar mineral discovered by Chinese scientists in returned lunar soil and the seventh in the world, it signifies China’s leap from "single-point breakthrough" to "sustained leadership" in the field of lunar mineral research, demonstrating the country’s solid strength and innovative vitality in basic deep-space exploration research.

Zhang Jianfeng, chief researcher of the CNNC Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology and leader of the research team, said, "The discovery of the two new minerals is not only a major breakthrough in China’s lunar scientific research, but also provides crucial support for in-depth exploration of the moon’s material composition and geological evolution." He added that the team will continue to conduct in-depth research on Chang’e-5 samples to unlock more lunar mysteries.

As another iconic achievement of China’s scientific and technological innovation, the discovery of the two new lunar minerals provides important scientific basis for deepening the research on lunar material composition, geological evolution and lunar origin. It is a key achievement of the combination of China’s deep-space exploration and basic scientific research, and is of great significance for enhancing human understanding of the moon and the universe.

CNR noted that since the successful return of the Chang’e-5 mission, Chinese scientists have carried out in-depth and systematic research on lunar samples, achieving a series of important scientific breakthroughs. Prior to the discovery of magnesiochang’eite and ceriumchang’eite, chang’eite, discovered in 2022, was the sixth new lunar mineral found by humans in the world, laying a solid foundation for China’s leading position in lunar mineral research.